Release date: 23 May 2025
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s Prevention team have celebrated another successful year of delivering community fire safety advice, with a number of the team honoured for their efforts to help people lead safer lives.
At an event held on Monday, Head of Prevention Nathan Cross highlighted the work the team had delivered in 2024/25, the third year of the fire service’s Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP). The CRMP is the fire service’s four-year business plan, which sets out the strategic objectives of each team within the fire service.
Among some of the highlights celebrated were:
- The delivery of 5,948 Safe & Well Visits across the service
- 4,644 smoke alarms installed
- 3,530 secondary school pupils attend our Safe Drive Stay Alive events
- 2,333 hours of volunteer support delivered
Nathan said: “Last year was an incredibly busy year for our Prevention team, but the level of enthusiasm and dedication to the work that we deliver has been clear for all of us to see, and I could not be more proud of everything that the team has achieved in the last 12 months.
“Our Prevention team is made up of an incredibly talented group of people, delivering everything from individual Safe & Well Visits in peoples’ homes, to our hard-hitting Safe Drive Stay Alive road safety show, our Biker Down workshops as well as our Targeted Education Team working with some of the more vulnerable young people in our communities. We also have a fantastic programme of support for those living in our rural communities, as well as an incredibly dedicated team of Community Volunteers, whose support has been unwavering for many years now.”
A number of members of the team were presented with certificates for the work they delivered, aligned to West Sussex County Council’s five values, having been nominated by their colleagues for delivering exemplary public service.
The award recipients were:
- Customer Centred – Andy Mortimore
- Listen & Act Upon – Lauren Ellis
- Honest & Realistic – Emma Biffi
- Trust & Support – Gerri Mountstephens
- Genuinely Valued – Ben Applin
In addition, Community Volunteer Natalia Cao Simetic, was presented with a certificate for going above and beyond in the work they she carries out to support the service on a voluntary basis.
Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, said: “I am incredibly proud of the work that our Prevention team deliver each and every day to minimise the risk of anyone needing to call upon the fire and rescue service in an emergency situation. Their work makes a real difference to people’s lives, through our free Safe & Well Visits, our road safety roadshow Safe Drive Stay Alive, our fire cadet programme, as well as the work of our Targeted Education Team with younger members of our community. Congratulations to all of our award winners for all you have done to help keep people safe.”
You can find out more about WSFRS’s free Safe & Well Visits on the WSFRS website.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a Community Volunteer you can also find more information on the WSFRS website.
